Serious comet chasers — people who track faint comets with telescopes
and binoculars — have been aware of Comet C/2007 W1 (Boattini) for
quite a while. It was forecast to become quite bright for a telescopic
comet, 6th or perhaps even 5th magnitude, making it visible without
optical aid to skilled observers at dark sites.
So far, Boattini has exceeded the brightness predictions by more than
a full magnitude. If it keeps behaving like this — and that's a very
big if! — it could become quite prominent in July.
Click above for a more detailed, full-page, printable version of this chart.
S&T Illustration
Right now, unfortunately, the comet is fairly deep in the southern
sky, making it a difficult target from mid-northern latitudes. The
best sightings have been from the Southern Hemisphere, where it's
already visible without optical aid under ideal conditions. But
Boattini has also been spotted by many binocular observers in the
southern tier of the United States, particularly Arizona and Southern
California.
At the time of writing, the nearly full Moon makes Comet Boattini's
faint, fuzzy shape almost impossible to see. But there will be a brief
window of visibility after the Moon gets out of the early-evening sky
(on May 21st) and before the comet disappears into the Sun's glow in
June.
The comet will be crossing northern Pyxis, low in the southwest.
Timing is essential, especially for people north of the equator. Start
looking for the comet in late twilight, and continue until the Sun's
afterglow has completely disappeared. Careful star-hopping is also
essential; you can start either from bright Alphard in Hydra or Rho
(ρ) Puppis. Click here for a detailed, full-page, printable chart
showing the comet's path through early June.
The comet passes directly south of the Sun in mid-June, making it
invisible to anybody north of Antarctica. Northerners will lose sight
of it toward the end of May, but people in the Southern Hemisphere
should be able to see the comet through June's first week.
Boattini will emerge from the Sun's glow as an early-morning object
around the beginning of July. What it will look like then is anybody's
guess. Most likely, it will be a pleasant though unspectacular
binocular target, just as it is now. There's a small but significant
chance that it will become brighter than any comet since Holmes's
spectacular outburst late last year.
And there's an even smaller chance that the comet will disintegrate
entirely while it's hidden in the Sun's glow and never be seen again.
It wouldn't be the first time that's happened to a comet.
Stay tuned to SkyandTelescope.com and we'll keep you posted on the
latest developments.
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